The Proud King
by Bren Gail
Summary: Two Shot. Dave/JJ and alludes to others. Dave had been called many things in his lifetime, but The Candyland King he had not. Featuring prompts from Country Song Prompt Challenge and the Prompt Challenge Novel and Short Story Titles forums.


_The following prompts were used when writing this two shot_

_Prompt Challenge Novel Titles and Short Story Titles - Richard Matheson, Too Proud To Lose_

_Country Song Challenge Prompts - Fearless, Lasso, Wrapped, One Hot Mama, Family Man, Honey Bee, Back To December, You Had Me At Hello, You're Not Sorry, and Should've Said No_

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><p><em><strong>The Proud King<br>**__by Bren Gail_

Part I

Senior Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi leveled an outwardly fearless glower toward his three unperturbed opponents, but inwardly he was thoroughly scared shitless.

"Come on Uncle Dave," Five-year-old Jack Hotchner stated in childlike excitement. "It'll be bunches of fun! Funner than my soccer practice!"

"Jack, honey, funner is not a word." Jennifer Jareau caringly corrected as she leveled the profiler a look of her own that said that he would do this and like it. Or Else. "It'll be more fun."

"Thank you, Aunt JJ," Jack said before he looked at his honorary uncle and tried to do The Hotch Stare. "Yes, _more_ fun."

Dave easily tampered down the urge to smile at the poorly executed Hotch Stare, but if he showed any weakness then he or JJ would surely pounce upon it.

"Mr. Dave, play, now." Three-year-old Henry said in toddler exuberance from his mother's hip.

"No play," Dave stubbornly and rather childishly replied. He walked backward as he eyed the trio in caution. Henry's blue eyes welled up with unshed tears that could burst at any second. Jennifer immediately began soothing him. Jack's face fell in disappointment, but did not contradict his honorary uncle. Dave did not turn his back to them until he was safely out of the room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen, which left JJ alone in the living room to tend to two upset toddlers.

Dave's throat was itchy and had started to tighten out of panic. He needed his beloved scotch, but knew that beverage would be off the menu tonight and most of the day tomorrow; as Jennifer did not condone alcohol in her home while, children were under its roof. After several months of visits to this home, he walked to the correct cabinet that contained drinking glasses and picked an average sized one out. He then perused the refrigerator before choosing the gallon of skim milk to the left of the Minute Maid® Orange Juice and the right of the Brita® Water Pitcher.

As he poured the skim milk into the glass, he remembered the occasion when while on a case, he had complained that his ulcer was bothering him and shortly thereafter Reid had caught him drinking a large glass of whole milk. Immediately, Reid had informed him that according to the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), that while drinking milk gave short-term relief, it would ultimately make it worse as the milk over time would create more stomach acid, and extensive stomach acid would aggravate the issue.

Dave snorted at the brief fleeting memory and disregarded the advice as he took a large gulp of the skim milk. He grimaced at the taste of it as he was not used to what he had once jokingly referred as diet milk. He was Italian which in his family meant that he preferred everything from ass to breasts to butter to milk to oregano to zucchini one hundred percent real. He did not have time to waste on fake food or women. Nevertheless, because he loved the thoroughly real woman that he had been subtly wooing since he had met her, he would ignore her preference of, in his opinion, mostly fake milk.

After several minutes alone in the comfortable and welcoming kitchen, the milk drunk, and the glass washed and placed in its home on the second shelf of the third right cabinet, he sat at the kitchen island on a bar stool. He inwardly berated himself for making Henry cry and dreaded the confrontation with the child's one hot mama who in a couple of weeks would be Dave's girlfriend of a year.

As if the thinking of the confrontation would make it happen quicker, Jennifer walked into the kitchen with one hand on her hip and the other against her abdomen.

"David Rossi, how could you have been so mean to those boys?" She demanded as she stood in front of and towered over the sitting man.

He winced at her tone and not for the first time, thought that his blessed late Nonna Rossi would have liked the young blonde woman whom had wrapped a lasso around his concealed cold heart and had unknowingly made him want to be the family man instead of the old player. Unfortunately, Nonna Rossi, had left this earth when he was in his thirties and before Jennifer had graduated High School.

No, he told himself he would not again, go back to the December May way of thinking as it always left him in a crabby mood. Now distracted and side tracked, he had not heard a word she had said after her original comment about him being mean, he stared at her made all the right moves that a person intently listening would do, yet she saw through his charade.

"David Rossi, did you hear a word that I just said?" Jennifer groaned in frustration. She could deal with the Global Media, unblinkingly and without thinking shoot an Unsub, but the man who had had her at hello, frustrated and flustered her like none other.

"Yes, I heard you condemn me for being mean to Henry and Jack in which I do not believe I actually was."

"Dave," She sighed sitting on the chair beside him as she slumped in

"Honey Bee, what's wrong?" He asked soothingly as he scooted his chair closer to her so that their knees just about touched. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tipped her chin so that they made eye contact.

"You are." She stubbornly glared as her blue eyes glistened.

"I'm sorry?" He automatically apologized to her even though he was not quite sure on why he was wrong this time.

"You're not sorry." She retorted. "If you were sorry, you would make a better attempt at bonding with Henry."

"I took him to the park last," He paused as she began to speak.

"To a ballpark where Jack had a soccer game," She interjected.

"I took him for ice cream afterwards." He stated not sure how it was wrong to take Henry to a soccer game. He had closely supervised the three year old throughout the entire game.

"With both Hotch and Jack." She countered.

"If you have a problem with Henry spending time with Jack then why did you volunteer us to baby sit him so that Hotch, Garcia, Morgan, Prentiss, Reid, and Seaver could go to a play?" He questioned as he gently caressed her lower jaw while he held her chin captive.

She growled and snarled her teeth at him. He blinked in surprise. She jerked her chin and jaw away from him.

"David, this isn't about Jack and Henry spending time together," She paused long enough to make wave her hand to silence what he was about to interject. "This is about _you_ spending time with _my_ son."

"Jennifer, _I_ spend time with _your_ son." He stated firmly. "I am not quite sure what brought this episode on, but I will ignore it."

"Episode?" She repeated in hurt shock.

"I understand," He started speaking to her in a clear soothing tone. "That you have been under a great deal of stress with work and with LaMon-" He was prevented from finishing his profile when she angrily stood which made the chair make a scrapping sound on the hardwood floor. He stood as his body tensed as if sensing a hell of a fight.

She took a short intake of breath before sternly and just above a whisper enlightened him on why she had just abruptly stood. "You will not finish that sentence. You will not talk to me, in my home, as if I am your subordinate. Not even at work, am I your subordinate and I will not be your subordinate in any aspect of our relationship. You, sure as hell, will not profile me. I am not an Unsub. I am not one of your ex-wives," She scoffed and waved her right hand in exasperation. "What am I talking about; I'm not even your current one."

"Is this what this is about?" He whispered not quite trusting his voice to speak louder as he did not want to fight with her nor did he want to alert the boys in the front living room that they were fighting even if it were one sided.

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><p><strong><span>Note<span>**: Thank you ilovetvalot and GreekEMTSlytherinSpriteFairy for y'alls help and advice several weeks ago on how to protray Rossi, I really appreciated it, because I would not have been able to start this two shot without it. Feedback would totally reek of awesomeness, :)


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